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Adrian Tarn #1
Fatal Boarding
“I have never believed in going strictly by the book. My six-foot-two frame has an assortment of scars and marks that readily attest to that. It’s the main reason I’ve never been offered a higher position on a big-draft. But, when things really go to hell, I’m always the first one to get the call. They trust me with their lives, but not their jobs.”
--Adrian Tarn, Chief Security Officer, Starship Electra
--Adrian Tarn, Chief Security Officer, Starship Electra
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First published April 8, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
October 16, 2019
Surprisingly good little sci-fi adventure. The plot was good, the characters believable, and the author had me hanging in there wanting to see what happened next. Will definitely read the follow up, Deep Crossing.
May 3, 2012
I was pleasantly surprised by this free ebook download. Some of the free books I've read, haven't been all that well written... However, despite some typos, I found this book a very entertaining read. My late dad was a huge SF fan and I grew up reading SF classics, but haven't really found much modern SF that I liked (with the exception of Connie Willis' time travel books). This story was well written, interesting and at times really creepy. The characters are not quite as good at the plot. Like in many other SF stories, the writer seems to be expecting a male reader and the female characters are as you might expect... Other than that, I have no complaints.
February 28, 2015
I know that many people think reading free books from Amazon is a waste of time, and that is all too frequently true. But not in this case. Yes there are a few typos and the misuse of the occassional word - "hews" for "hues" and "tenants" for "tenets" come to mind in this case - but they are few and far between and don't take away anything from this fast-paced, page-turner, which mixes sci-fi and a mystery to great advantage. Any science fiction fan will thoroughly enjoy this story just as much as I did.
May 1, 2024
Every once in a while, every reader come across a novel by an author he've never read before, but which turns out to be surprisingly good. This is what happened to me with Fatal Boarding. The main character is Adrian Tarn, an expert in extravehicular activities, who finds himself in financial straits and finds employment on a spaceship for a cartographic mission. What was supposed to be a boring journey turns into a nightmare after an encounter with a mysterious spaceship.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, an adventure full of suspense and action, but also a very fun reading. Not much is said about the imagined human society, but I found it curious that, although the setting was far into the future, with humans now exploring the stars far and wide, judging by the dialogues, the people don't seem very different from today's .
I've always been a big fan of science fiction, mostly classic sciFi, I haven't always been captivated by modern science fiction.
This story is well written, there is the right amount of a scientific part, but it is truly disturbing, at times distressing, due to the atmosphere that is created. The only negative side I have found, is that some ideas are often not explored in depth and questions are left unanswered.
Other than that, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the sequel, Deep Crossing.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, an adventure full of suspense and action, but also a very fun reading. Not much is said about the imagined human society, but I found it curious that, although the setting was far into the future, with humans now exploring the stars far and wide, judging by the dialogues, the people don't seem very different from today's .
I've always been a big fan of science fiction, mostly classic sciFi, I haven't always been captivated by modern science fiction.
This story is well written, there is the right amount of a scientific part, but it is truly disturbing, at times distressing, due to the atmosphere that is created. The only negative side I have found, is that some ideas are often not explored in depth and questions are left unanswered.
Other than that, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the sequel, Deep Crossing.
September 25, 2014
Great science fiction
I am a fan of the genera, and have seldom had the privilege of.reading a book like this.
Very well thought out, does not try to convince you of the scientific advances by making up stuff, rather deals with faster than light travel and artificial gravity as every day things, pulling you into their world to worry about the character interaction and the perils of space and keeping you there for the ride.
Excellent plot, a fresh take on a fist contact situation, with a familiar flavor, without the regular labels. Really a delight to read.
It does need a little TLC. It does have a couple of spelling mistakes and there are a couple of words that "sound" right, but do not mean what the context implies. But this is very, very minor. It is a very enjoyable book and can be highly recommended.
For a free bok is beyond a pleasant surprise, it is a gem.
Enjoy it. You will not be disappointed.
I am a fan of the genera, and have seldom had the privilege of.reading a book like this.
Very well thought out, does not try to convince you of the scientific advances by making up stuff, rather deals with faster than light travel and artificial gravity as every day things, pulling you into their world to worry about the character interaction and the perils of space and keeping you there for the ride.
Excellent plot, a fresh take on a fist contact situation, with a familiar flavor, without the regular labels. Really a delight to read.
It does need a little TLC. It does have a couple of spelling mistakes and there are a couple of words that "sound" right, but do not mean what the context implies. But this is very, very minor. It is a very enjoyable book and can be highly recommended.
For a free bok is beyond a pleasant surprise, it is a gem.
Enjoy it. You will not be disappointed.
May 25, 2015
Enjoyable hard SF. Mason has the science and the techno-speak DOWN, doesn't impede the action with a lot of explication or angsty rumination, is good with the banter and crafts intriguingly alien aliens. Sad to say, the women are all bitches or whores or, at best, objectified by being subject to long lascivious descriptions of their bods, so there is room for improvement in the casting. Still, I'm happy to have a new author to follow.
Lots of typos, though (my favorite is one about running the "gambit of emotions."). If anyone with the inclination/power to fix them wants a list, just ask.
Lots of typos, though (my favorite is one about running the "gambit of emotions."). If anyone with the inclination/power to fix them wants a list, just ask.
April 13, 2015
I picked this up as a free Kindle download with very low expectations and was extremely pleasantly surprised.
It does take some time for E.R. Mason to settle into a comfortable writing style, the first few dozen pages are a bit clumsy and don't flow very well. Once he does start writing more comfortable prose the story starts barreling along at a great pace.
The story never has any pretense of being anything more than a thrill-a-minute, creepy, pulp science fiction adventure with the character development and nuance to go along with it. Don't expect a touching, delicate, coming of age character study here.
I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
It does take some time for E.R. Mason to settle into a comfortable writing style, the first few dozen pages are a bit clumsy and don't flow very well. Once he does start writing more comfortable prose the story starts barreling along at a great pace.
The story never has any pretense of being anything more than a thrill-a-minute, creepy, pulp science fiction adventure with the character development and nuance to go along with it. Don't expect a touching, delicate, coming of age character study here.
I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
May 11, 2012
Many of the free books that I have downloaded are not well done at all, but this was an exception to the rule. I enjoyed the plot, the characters and the writing style. All kept me interested throughout. what brought it down to 3 stars were the many word errors and typos. Also there were places where quite a few pages were taken up with descriptive material that was totally extraneous to the story line. I think a little editing in that regard would have been helpful too. But on the whole, I will be looking for more by this author.
February 24, 2015
A Mystery in Space
This yarn takes a bit of patience, but it is a good story. The characters are never fully fleshed out, but the plot is very good and quite suspenseful. If not for the vast number of editing issues, this could rank four stars, but as it is, three is a generous number.
This yarn takes a bit of patience, but it is a good story. The characters are never fully fleshed out, but the plot is very good and quite suspenseful. If not for the vast number of editing issues, this could rank four stars, but as it is, three is a generous number.
February 23, 2016
First book in the series - quick read. An alien species that takes over ships looking for life forms that it uses to feed on. Tends to forget about characters once they disappear - which is fine most of the time but sometimes you want to know what happened. Seem to be a number of stupid humans in this book. worth the read.
September 4, 2017
Hope there is a sequel!! Captivating story hard to put down! I'd like too know what happens to the main characters.! Do they go back into space? Is this really the end ofmthe story?s!
Hard too put down, compe!long story! Is there a sequel? Would like too know if main characters survive the rest of the story!!!!
Hard too put down, compe!long story! Is there a sequel? Would like too know if main characters survive the rest of the story!!!!
December 9, 2014
Well-paced and interesting. If you like science fiction, there's no question this is a good read. If sci-fi isn't your thing, give it a try anyway. The author created an exciting story, believable characters, and writes well-crafted dialogue.
July 31, 2019
Refreshing Stand Alone novel
Complete story.(not a series) But I would love to read more from the characters. Excellent psychology of the human character. Tense action and light repartee. Excellent!
Complete story.(not a series) But I would love to read more from the characters. Excellent psychology of the human character. Tense action and light repartee. Excellent!
March 11, 2019
Not a bad start to a Soap Opera—and you can’t beat Amazon’s price. This mostly hard SF, with some Fantasy, plus a touch of mystery, is quite intriguing. It’s a series of five; only the 5th book is disappointing.
October 30, 2014
I love the general feel of this novel, a classic space adventure reminiscent of Star Trek. It was an interesting read, with some very exciting parts. A few sections were a bit confusing, due partially to the “tech,” and I felt there were some info dumps that could have been worked in more smoothly, but I really liked all the details about the problems with gravity and weightlessness, and some of the other sciency stuff. MINOR SPOILER: I did wonder about one of the solutions they employed at the end (to do with motors). Why couldn’t they have done something like that earlier (with a different ship)?
I would have given the novel four stars, but the editing wasn’t quite up to 4-star standards. There were many punctuation errors and places where the wrong word was used. Examples: lead/led, lose/loose, gapping/gaping, where/were, your/you’re, while/will, passed/past, thought/though, starred/stared.
Overall, Fatal Boarding is a fun science fiction read, and I would try other books by E.R. Mason.
Warning: one fairly gratuitous (but not too graphic) sex scene
I would have given the novel four stars, but the editing wasn’t quite up to 4-star standards. There were many punctuation errors and places where the wrong word was used. Examples: lead/led, lose/loose, gapping/gaping, where/were, your/you’re, while/will, passed/past, thought/though, starred/stared.
Overall, Fatal Boarding is a fun science fiction read, and I would try other books by E.R. Mason.
Warning: one fairly gratuitous (but not too graphic) sex scene
March 10, 2017
I was pleasantly surprised by this free book on Amazon. The characters are real and believable, and the book is well-written. It held my attention and kept me wanting more. As far as science fiction genre, this book contains elements of hard sci-fi, including dealing with issues of gravitation and language barriers between species. However, it does incorporate more fanciful elements, like faster-than-light travel and highly evolved/ascended beings. It's not space opera but it presents a great first contact type of story. It's definitely worth a read.
June 17, 2020
This was a fairly good, coherent SF adventure. Not the greatest bit of future imagination - it always seems strange that someone from a few centuries in the future keeps referring back to the events and cultural icons of our present time, but never even mentions the intervening period. You never get a hint of the films or music of the 2050s, just of the 1990s to 2010s. However, nothing in the actual story struck me as either wildly contradictory, so I quite enjoyed the adventure - even though I knew who was going to come out on top.
July 6, 2015
This is a light, enjoyable read with standard adventure characteristics: a highly capable hero who doesn't think too much of himself, a loyal sidekick who doesn't get the recognition he deserves, thick-headed superiors, a puzzling predicament, overcoming near impossible odds against a superior foe, and a romantic tangent. Well-paced with good plot trajectory. Better than the first sequel.
Worth more than I paid for it; i received this book as a free download.
Worth more than I paid for it; i received this book as a free download.
November 7, 2015
Just Right
If you enjoy humor along with your danger as in Iron Man or Star Trek this will be a good read for you. I enjoyed the fiction, science, and group of heroes working together for the greater good.
The author mixes in his knowledge of the military without saying all answers are best served from that mind set.
Those that are seeking cowboy individualism will find leadership that takes different forms.
So here is a well edited easy read. Enjoy.
If you enjoy humor along with your danger as in Iron Man or Star Trek this will be a good read for you. I enjoyed the fiction, science, and group of heroes working together for the greater good.
The author mixes in his knowledge of the military without saying all answers are best served from that mind set.
Those that are seeking cowboy individualism will find leadership that takes different forms.
So here is a well edited easy read. Enjoy.
September 5, 2014
Monotone, all the way through. Too bad. The author can write some good lines, and inject a little comedy here and there. After reading the first two paragraphs, I was hooked--for a while--until I realized it rambled--to the end.
Read
June 1, 2025Rating: minus 4 on a scale of minus 5 to plus 5.
It is boring but necessary to rewrite another review and I doubt that anyone else will read this. For several years I wrote quick and dirty notes to and for myself because the kindle loans were so awful. I have been encouraged by a number of nasty and arrogant commenters to do better and so I shall.
To mentally prepare for this chore, I plan to watch YouTube. This review was brought to you by Doctor Who/They Break My Heart - RecklessGirl100, LuckyBlackCat, Red Glasgow, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Supertanskiii, A Day of Small Things, RevolutionarythOt, Joe Blogs, Fit 2B Read, Reads with Rachel, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, The London History Show, Lady of the Library, Ben G Thomas, Digging for Britain, Michael Lambert, No Justice MTG, Silicon Curtain, Travel Through Stories, Rebecca Watson, Jake Broe, Abby Cox, Dr Fatima, Premodernist, Emma Thorne, The Brothers Gwynne, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Narrowboat Pirate, Sailing Melody, Philip Chase, Times Radio, Deerstalker Films, With Cindy, Jen the Librarian, Quinn's Ideas, Atun Shei Films, Alice Cappelle, The Researcher, Think That Through, Think Ukraine, Andrewism, Luis Humanoide, The Cosy Creative, Mandy, May, Clouding -Welcome to Ukraine, Jed Herne, Mynameismarines, Physics Girl, Dan Davis History, Tulia, Sarah Millican, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, Your True Shelf, It's Black Friday, NerdForge, Squire, Kyiv Post, Quinn's Ideas, Ksenia Samoilova, Keffals, Some More News, Eileen, Words in Time, Verilybitchie, Interior Design Hub, Kazachka, Lily Simpson. Princess Weekes, Part Time Hobbit, Amie's Literary Empire, Dominic Noble, IL Neige. Just in Time Worlds, Professor Gerdes Explains, Welcome to Ukraine, Mia Mulder, Kirkpattiecake, Mercy's Bookish Musings, Brittany Page, Sarah Z, Lady Knight the Brave, Jessica Kellgren Fozard, Operator Starsky, Cruising Crafts, Mercado Media, Zoe Baker, Briefed, Jen the Librarian, JohnTheDuncan, Bklyn Book Belle, ThePrImeChronus.
I saw recently that a leader of the Village Idiot Party whilst insulting an essayist, complain to her that I mention channels with other trans creators. Unfortunately the air or groundwater seem to nourish the arrogant ignorance and self-importance of the American chapter of this cherished multinational movement. A trigger warning seems needed. To that idiot and other Party members, the channels I mention as well as my reviews will be beyond you and threatening which you already know. The channels which I mention include political historian, bi, younger, taller, queer, auburn, married, archaeologist, gay, literary critic, trans, physicist, hobbyist, French, asexual, WOC, cis, older, model, science educator, lifestyle enthusiast, communist, mathematician and other female creators who collectively are referred to by the less intellectually challenged as Women. Almost as troubling to you will be the other non-US, fashion historian, anarchist, military historian, other LGBTQ+, socialist, ginger, geographer, socialist, anthropologist, writer, philosopher, culture critic, book reviewer and other creators who are labelled by the healthily socialised Human Beings. Should the voices still insist that you expose yourself to the wider world, I suggest emergency therapy, immediate pastoral counselling or our very effective Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these clods are eerily similar to that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island, when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their famous last recorded response was "Russian warship, go f@ck yourself". Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!
On to the book. The characters are less than two dimensional, especially the main character. There are horrible scenes and circumstances yet neither the characters nor the writing invest any emotion into these. Flat is something of an understatement.
The worldbuilding is not. Questions abound. There was no description of how humanity is organised or their relationship with the barely mentioned alien cultures. It is no surprise that the characters lack depth and personal history because there is no context.
The main character possesses no special skills other than being male. He almost expressed emotion at meeting a strange alien shipboard but that glimpse disappeared from one page to the next. Other previously uncontacted aliens have seized a third alien ship and killed its crew but none of the characters expressed more than a momentary curiosity.
There are unexplained voices heard on the vacant ship but mentioned several times, were never explained. Very quickly the hero and his crew forget the voices. The book is exposition rather than meaningful dialogue. There is no explanation for the set of villains, including how they arrived. The book's end was hardly climactic or satisfying.
I originally wrote more when only for myself but during my rewrites I now say much less. Kindle loans being so weirdly substandard as a rule, my reaction unappreciated by unwelcome commenters and reviews which consist of liking or not with no reasons given, I see no point. I recently dropped my Unlimited sub.
I need another visit to the YouTube. This next was made possible by Acollierastro, Hoots, Lily Simpson, LuckyBlackCat, Kiko1006 - Secret Melody, Words in Time, Sideprojects, Just in Time Worlds, Yarmak -Ragnarok, Dark Tech, Hardy's Books, Karolina Zebrowska, Ukraine Matters, Tanya Fiona, History with Kayleigh, Wednesday - Bloody Mary, AllShorts, Truth to Power, SVG Productions, SK Media, Inside Russia, Eugenia from Ukraine, Hypohystericalhistory, Rebecca Watson, DnD Doge, Belinda Strnad, Premodernist, The Friendly Atheist, The Metalbook Tavern, Welcome to Ukraine, Then & Now, Reading the Past, Sanctioned Ivan, I'm Autistic Now What, Think That Through, Bella Ciao -Nikolay Kutuzov, Squire, Jessie Gender, Baltic Empire, Real Time History, The Great War, Reading Wryly, OliviaReadsaLatte, Julie Nolke, Kaz Rowe, Mynameismarines, Grace McGuire, ATP Geopolitics, Not the Andrew Marr Show, Kalanadi, The Great War, Andrewism, Brandon F The Authentic Observer, Crow Caller, Dead Good Book Reviews, Book Furnace, Ember Green, Ponderful, Philosophy Tube, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Strange Aeons, Mercado Media, Smack the Pony, WokeGardener, Dark Seas, Kat Blaque, A Cup of Nicole, Narrowboat Pirate, Cruising Alba, Cruising Crafts, Jean's Thoughts, Bookish Di, Eugenia from Ukraine, The Matriarchetype, Depressed Russian, Isaac Arthur, Terrible Writing Advice, Abby Cox, Shannon Makes, Tibees, Welcome to Ukraine, Hej Sokoly, Renegade Cut, Verilybitchie, Alice Cappelle, Asianometry, The Researcher, Silicon Curtain. The Answer is Books, Haropones, Answer in Progress, Brandon F, Rowan Ellis, DM it All, Discourse Minis, Rescues and Reads, Danielea Reads, Science Insanity, Mia Mulder, Lily Alexandre, Bobbing Along, Kris Atomic, Andrew Watson, Hello Future Me, Supertanskiii, Ben and Emily, Alysotherlife, Leftist Cooks, Unlearning Economics.
I began searching YouTube perhaps, three years ago now. I felt starved for good science fiction or fantasy. My latest reading preference has been science fiction and fantasy. There are good titles to be found from US publishers but they are few with the bulk being rubbish. There are good non-US, POC writers and LGBTQ writers but they are not as a rule hyped and the big five US publishers churn out the really awful with wild abandon seeing a better profit from readers who demand little. Some of the worst "science fiction" are produced by upper class twits lacking any semblance of talent.
Kindle did introduce me to a number of stellar writers but the bulk of Unlimited choices are the unedited first draft, the poorly thought out, the products of tropofication, the political theme which is usually US libertarian (which translates currently into white nationalist, severe misogyny and denigration of every possible marginalised group) as opposed to simply mocking the working classes and deluding the middle classes.
I was surprised and excited by variety to be found in the myriad channels. I had pictured the site as solely the home of cat and the odd music video. Instead I discovered lifestyle, hobbyist, history, humour, literary criticism and finally BookTube. There are channels with different approaches and emphasis exploring every nook and cranny of the bookish world.
The book channels 😍 foster communities of curious, passionate, cosmopolitan readers in love with all aspects of the world of books from writing to publisher practice. The environments are far different to that of Kindle/Goodreads, I promise.
The science fiction channels are a treasure trove of details of individual writers, discussion of the many universes and the history of the genre. The science fiction short film channels deliver wonderful stories in less than fifteen and often ten minutes. DUST and Omeleto are the first short channels I think of but there are others. After Kindle/Goodreads I had lost my interest not just in the genre but reading generally for the first time ever. The book channels slowly rekindled my interest in print fiction.
Please consider treating this site as not only unsatisfying but potentially hostile. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. As example, I wrote a short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written, juvenile salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero. The writer, Travis Corcoran self-described as libertarian and advocate of the return of chattel slavery (currently a public position of the US Republican Party), tolerated on mainstream media, supported on social media and approved of by a majority of white American voters, veteran, employee of an unnamed US agency and admirer of Putin and Moscow. He was certainly A MAGA Hero ahead Of His Time.
My opinion of this sad book was that besides quality of writing, I found the storyline of the newly rich enlisting the military to overthrow the US government to be dangerous and unhealthy. Instead of keeping the faith until 2024, they invested in almost a year long comment stream demanding my response to their increasingly unhinged rants. My favourite comment was their labelling me a narcissist. As a communist, the levels of irony were almost overwhelming and I do not enjoy irony.
The final comment was courtesy of Claes Rees Jr aka cgr710 now ka Clayton R Jesse Jr who no longer self-identifies as a Nazi for some reason. He gleefully declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that They had launched a year long campaign of vile sexual, racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ+ comments against apparently every female creator whose channel I mentioned. It continues still but They have now garnered enough courage to attack male creators. It was an ugly but interesting application of free speech. While They failed to secure a romantic relationship or impress the astrophysicist, writer, historian, economist and other female creators, They certainly needlessly increased the world's overabundance of unpleasantness. In addition They managed to deliver a splendid self-portrait of the snowflake (twisted, vicious US man-child) to a multinational audience, which seems to have been a victory. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
It is time for a short step away. This next is possible courtesy of - Mynameismarines, The Brothers Gwynne, I'm Rosa, Braedon Alberti, Briefed, SK Media, Reese Waters, Maria Veshchunova, Maria Frankland, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Countdown to Power, Stephanie Bookish, Lexi Newlynova, Kyle Hill, Venom Geek Media, Elvira Bary, Supertanskiii, Right Brain Writing, Hoots, Northern Narrowboaters, Reading the Past, Mercado Media, Fredda, The Binge List, Lindsay Nikole, Lydloves, Bookish Realms, Zoe Baker, Omeleto, Paperback Empire, Sci-Fi Scavenger, Welcome to Ukraine, Professor Gerdes Explains, Schola Gladiatoria, A New Elise on Life, JuLingo, The Obsessive Bookseller, Gabby Reads, Mom on the Spectrum, Sort of Interesting, FAFO, ATP Geopolitics, Part Time Hobbit, James Tullos, A Lil Bit Mads, Writing Quest, Engineering Knits, Daisy Viktoria, Yinka, ScaredKetchup, NetNarrator, Unlearning Economics, victory - 47 SMB, Keffals, Times Radio, Kings and Generals, Military History Visualized, Rachel Oates, Jake Broe, Kyiv Independent, UATV, Matriarchetype, Mom on the Spectrum, Hej Sokoly, Alina Gingertail, Welcome to Ukraine, Ukraine Matters, Kaz Rowe, Depressed Russian, Answer in Progress, Zoe Bee, Alize, Rebecca Watson, Truth to Power, Shaun, Fall of Civilisations, Gary's Economics, Dangerous Ideas with Lee Camp, Dungeon Dad, The Grungeon Master, Chess Vibes, RobWords, JohnTheDuncan, Leeja Miller, Weir on the Move, Lady knight the Brave, Owen Jones, Cunk, The Piano Guys, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Double Down News, Chris and Shell, Lily Simpson, Ro Ramdin, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Amie's Literary Empire.
Ominous music begins. 🙂 Goodreads functionality has been criticised by a number of BookTubers and they are moving to other sites. Storygraph, Fable, Bookwise, Basmo, Read Tracker, Book Shelf and Read are several. See the video on Victoria Masters' book channel. My concern is for the dangerous nature of the site supported by Amazon themselves.
The comment gangs are hardly unique to my reviews. They can be found on female reviews of Ringo's disgusting Dark Skies series and negative reviews of other writers in Romantasy, romance and science fiction. Reviews criticising racist, misogynistic, anti- LGBTQ, ableist and other ugly anti-human themes and representation. The bulk of the membership are US readers statistically, who enjoy an almost Russian thoughtless support and voted for public, televised and print plans to implement those types of policies.
Doxxing, stalking and the death threat have been aimed at one star reader reviewers and even Book Tubers. Amazon neither acknowledge nor act against crazed fans, writers organising them or employees who enable them.
My limited Goodreads message history was given over to these nutcases, which allowed them to generate a request through Pine Gap Centre that Australian Intelligence interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. Their attempt at my personal information failed, though it did result in two outraged customers. As we began sharing our experience, Amazon hurriedly moved to cover up their harassment and of course no apology, etc.
Recently a seventh ex-employee of EBay was sentenced for the harassment of a couple whose small ecommerce channel was deemed unkind to EBay. The couple were awarded multi-millions of pounds and that ex-employee had been the EBay Chief of Global Security or some such. These behaviours are proliferating, I suspect. Something to think about.
I suggest certain precautions that might make you safer until you replace Amazon devices and sites.
Remove all personal information from the profile and avoid the messaging app. Remove any lurker, those who never post. They are monitors neither admirers nor harmless. Given the Goodreads penchant for Altering customer pages, the screenshot of the odd and the ugly are invaluable.
Do Not use Kindle Files, Calendar, Contacts or Email. At the start of last year I tested a throwaway account and removed it with some difficulty fifteen minutes later and changed the password. Kindle had developed a Contact List. Recently Kindle sent a notification that they could not Sign Into my email. 🤔 Do Not "purchase" Amazon ebooks. You only Own the device. You do not own the download any of which can be deleted by Amazon with no explanation. There are other ebook vendors and library loans, if space is an issue. All Amazon Silk searches should be non-critical and innocuous.
To implement these will cost nothing. To not might do. These damaged members and employees know no morality or respect for others but are American patriots. Ominous music ends. 🙂
Be wary, be careful and may we all find Good Reading! 😊
While not understanding most of the terms I see on the site, these are some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Biz, Bobbing Along, UNTV, Interior Design Hub, Narrowboat Liberty, Mia Mulder, Artur Rehi, Cruising Alba, DW News, Natasha's Adventures, Philosophy Tube, Novara Media, Tom Nicholas, Digging for Britain, Roomies Digest, A Day of Small Things, Chloe Stafler, Tulia, No Justice MTG, Tibees, Munecat, The Juice Media, Owen Jones, Honest Government Ads, Mandy, Patrick is a Navajo, Inside Russia, Peter Stefanovic, Chris and Shell, Andrewism, Narrowboat Pirate, Cruising Crafts, Alice Cappelle, Anton Petrov, Northern Narrowboaters, Dark Docs, Dark Skies, Warographics, Lady of the Library, The Shades of Orange, NerdForge, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, The Templin Institute, Prime of Midlife, OrangeRiver, Wizards and Warriors, Brandon F, Sarah Z, A Cup of Nicole, The Book Leo, Physics Girl, Terrible Writing Advice, Adam Something, Renegade Cut, RealTime History, Dr Becky, Dr Ben Miller, Alexa Donne, Perun, Cold Fusion, IzzzYzzz, Jabzy, Heather Dale, Make Better Media, Karolina Zebrowska, Abby Cox, Historical Fashion, Katy Montgomerie, Agro Squirrel Narrates, The Welsh Viking, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, The Paranormal Scholar, Ember Green, Jen the Librarian, Tale Foundry, Maiorianus, UATV English, Lorna Jane Adventures, Some More News, Eleanor Morton, Council of Zoom, CalibanRising, It's Black Friday, Tale Foundry, Sarah Z, Space 1889, Kathy's Flog in France, Jessie Gender, Travelling K, Ben and Emily, Kris Atomic, Steve Shives, Books and Things, Emma Thorne, France 24, Books with Brittany, TwoTheFuture, Book Furnace, Kady2.0, Sabine Hossenfelder, Truth to Power, AllShorts, Ship Happens, Steve Shives, The Science of Science Fiction, Welcome to Ukraine, Kyiv Post, Malinda, Jess Owens, The Historian's Craft, Mia Asano, Cambrian Chronicles, Jacobin, Chris Animations, Cecelia Blomdahl, The Leftist Cooks, Roisin's Reading, Lily Simpson, Aid Thompsin, Rachel Maksy, World War Two, Alt Shift X, David John Wellman, EarleWrites, The Budget Museum, History with Kayleigh, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Harbo Wholmes, Books with Emily Fox, Extinction Rebellion UK, Verilybitchie, Veritas et Caritas, The Who Addicts, Riverboat Jack, Jack Edwards, Science Fiction with Damien Walker, Steven Woodford, Lynn Saga, Amie's Literary Empire, Skip Intro.
I wish you a great morning, a splendid afternoon, a wonderful evening, a pleasant night and may we all continue learning.
Allow Another to speak in your name, you adopt Another's sins.
My Catholic Grandmother
It is boring but necessary to rewrite another review and I doubt that anyone else will read this. For several years I wrote quick and dirty notes to and for myself because the kindle loans were so awful. I have been encouraged by a number of nasty and arrogant commenters to do better and so I shall.
To mentally prepare for this chore, I plan to watch YouTube. This review was brought to you by Doctor Who/They Break My Heart - RecklessGirl100, LuckyBlackCat, Red Glasgow, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Supertanskiii, A Day of Small Things, RevolutionarythOt, Joe Blogs, Fit 2B Read, Reads with Rachel, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, The London History Show, Lady of the Library, Ben G Thomas, Digging for Britain, Michael Lambert, No Justice MTG, Silicon Curtain, Travel Through Stories, Rebecca Watson, Jake Broe, Abby Cox, Dr Fatima, Premodernist, Emma Thorne, The Brothers Gwynne, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Narrowboat Pirate, Sailing Melody, Philip Chase, Times Radio, Deerstalker Films, With Cindy, Jen the Librarian, Quinn's Ideas, Atun Shei Films, Alice Cappelle, The Researcher, Think That Through, Think Ukraine, Andrewism, Luis Humanoide, The Cosy Creative, Mandy, May, Clouding -Welcome to Ukraine, Jed Herne, Mynameismarines, Physics Girl, Dan Davis History, Tulia, Sarah Millican, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, Your True Shelf, It's Black Friday, NerdForge, Squire, Kyiv Post, Quinn's Ideas, Ksenia Samoilova, Keffals, Some More News, Eileen, Words in Time, Verilybitchie, Interior Design Hub, Kazachka, Lily Simpson. Princess Weekes, Part Time Hobbit, Amie's Literary Empire, Dominic Noble, IL Neige. Just in Time Worlds, Professor Gerdes Explains, Welcome to Ukraine, Mia Mulder, Kirkpattiecake, Mercy's Bookish Musings, Brittany Page, Sarah Z, Lady Knight the Brave, Jessica Kellgren Fozard, Operator Starsky, Cruising Crafts, Mercado Media, Zoe Baker, Briefed, Jen the Librarian, JohnTheDuncan, Bklyn Book Belle, ThePrImeChronus.
I saw recently that a leader of the Village Idiot Party whilst insulting an essayist, complain to her that I mention channels with other trans creators. Unfortunately the air or groundwater seem to nourish the arrogant ignorance and self-importance of the American chapter of this cherished multinational movement. A trigger warning seems needed. To that idiot and other Party members, the channels I mention as well as my reviews will be beyond you and threatening which you already know. The channels which I mention include political historian, bi, younger, taller, queer, auburn, married, archaeologist, gay, literary critic, trans, physicist, hobbyist, French, asexual, WOC, cis, older, model, science educator, lifestyle enthusiast, communist, mathematician and other female creators who collectively are referred to by the less intellectually challenged as Women. Almost as troubling to you will be the other non-US, fashion historian, anarchist, military historian, other LGBTQ+, socialist, ginger, geographer, socialist, anthropologist, writer, philosopher, culture critic, book reviewer and other creators who are labelled by the healthily socialised Human Beings. Should the voices still insist that you expose yourself to the wider world, I suggest emergency therapy, immediate pastoral counselling or our very effective Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these clods are eerily similar to that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island, when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their famous last recorded response was "Russian warship, go f@ck yourself". Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!
On to the book. The characters are less than two dimensional, especially the main character. There are horrible scenes and circumstances yet neither the characters nor the writing invest any emotion into these. Flat is something of an understatement.
The worldbuilding is not. Questions abound. There was no description of how humanity is organised or their relationship with the barely mentioned alien cultures. It is no surprise that the characters lack depth and personal history because there is no context.
The main character possesses no special skills other than being male. He almost expressed emotion at meeting a strange alien shipboard but that glimpse disappeared from one page to the next. Other previously uncontacted aliens have seized a third alien ship and killed its crew but none of the characters expressed more than a momentary curiosity.
There are unexplained voices heard on the vacant ship but mentioned several times, were never explained. Very quickly the hero and his crew forget the voices. The book is exposition rather than meaningful dialogue. There is no explanation for the set of villains, including how they arrived. The book's end was hardly climactic or satisfying.
I originally wrote more when only for myself but during my rewrites I now say much less. Kindle loans being so weirdly substandard as a rule, my reaction unappreciated by unwelcome commenters and reviews which consist of liking or not with no reasons given, I see no point. I recently dropped my Unlimited sub.
I need another visit to the YouTube. This next was made possible by Acollierastro, Hoots, Lily Simpson, LuckyBlackCat, Kiko1006 - Secret Melody, Words in Time, Sideprojects, Just in Time Worlds, Yarmak -Ragnarok, Dark Tech, Hardy's Books, Karolina Zebrowska, Ukraine Matters, Tanya Fiona, History with Kayleigh, Wednesday - Bloody Mary, AllShorts, Truth to Power, SVG Productions, SK Media, Inside Russia, Eugenia from Ukraine, Hypohystericalhistory, Rebecca Watson, DnD Doge, Belinda Strnad, Premodernist, The Friendly Atheist, The Metalbook Tavern, Welcome to Ukraine, Then & Now, Reading the Past, Sanctioned Ivan, I'm Autistic Now What, Think That Through, Bella Ciao -Nikolay Kutuzov, Squire, Jessie Gender, Baltic Empire, Real Time History, The Great War, Reading Wryly, OliviaReadsaLatte, Julie Nolke, Kaz Rowe, Mynameismarines, Grace McGuire, ATP Geopolitics, Not the Andrew Marr Show, Kalanadi, The Great War, Andrewism, Brandon F The Authentic Observer, Crow Caller, Dead Good Book Reviews, Book Furnace, Ember Green, Ponderful, Philosophy Tube, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Strange Aeons, Mercado Media, Smack the Pony, WokeGardener, Dark Seas, Kat Blaque, A Cup of Nicole, Narrowboat Pirate, Cruising Alba, Cruising Crafts, Jean's Thoughts, Bookish Di, Eugenia from Ukraine, The Matriarchetype, Depressed Russian, Isaac Arthur, Terrible Writing Advice, Abby Cox, Shannon Makes, Tibees, Welcome to Ukraine, Hej Sokoly, Renegade Cut, Verilybitchie, Alice Cappelle, Asianometry, The Researcher, Silicon Curtain. The Answer is Books, Haropones, Answer in Progress, Brandon F, Rowan Ellis, DM it All, Discourse Minis, Rescues and Reads, Danielea Reads, Science Insanity, Mia Mulder, Lily Alexandre, Bobbing Along, Kris Atomic, Andrew Watson, Hello Future Me, Supertanskiii, Ben and Emily, Alysotherlife, Leftist Cooks, Unlearning Economics.
I began searching YouTube perhaps, three years ago now. I felt starved for good science fiction or fantasy. My latest reading preference has been science fiction and fantasy. There are good titles to be found from US publishers but they are few with the bulk being rubbish. There are good non-US, POC writers and LGBTQ writers but they are not as a rule hyped and the big five US publishers churn out the really awful with wild abandon seeing a better profit from readers who demand little. Some of the worst "science fiction" are produced by upper class twits lacking any semblance of talent.
Kindle did introduce me to a number of stellar writers but the bulk of Unlimited choices are the unedited first draft, the poorly thought out, the products of tropofication, the political theme which is usually US libertarian (which translates currently into white nationalist, severe misogyny and denigration of every possible marginalised group) as opposed to simply mocking the working classes and deluding the middle classes.
I was surprised and excited by variety to be found in the myriad channels. I had pictured the site as solely the home of cat and the odd music video. Instead I discovered lifestyle, hobbyist, history, humour, literary criticism and finally BookTube. There are channels with different approaches and emphasis exploring every nook and cranny of the bookish world.
The book channels 😍 foster communities of curious, passionate, cosmopolitan readers in love with all aspects of the world of books from writing to publisher practice. The environments are far different to that of Kindle/Goodreads, I promise.
The science fiction channels are a treasure trove of details of individual writers, discussion of the many universes and the history of the genre. The science fiction short film channels deliver wonderful stories in less than fifteen and often ten minutes. DUST and Omeleto are the first short channels I think of but there are others. After Kindle/Goodreads I had lost my interest not just in the genre but reading generally for the first time ever. The book channels slowly rekindled my interest in print fiction.
Please consider treating this site as not only unsatisfying but potentially hostile. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. As example, I wrote a short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written, juvenile salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero. The writer, Travis Corcoran self-described as libertarian and advocate of the return of chattel slavery (currently a public position of the US Republican Party), tolerated on mainstream media, supported on social media and approved of by a majority of white American voters, veteran, employee of an unnamed US agency and admirer of Putin and Moscow. He was certainly A MAGA Hero ahead Of His Time.
My opinion of this sad book was that besides quality of writing, I found the storyline of the newly rich enlisting the military to overthrow the US government to be dangerous and unhealthy. Instead of keeping the faith until 2024, they invested in almost a year long comment stream demanding my response to their increasingly unhinged rants. My favourite comment was their labelling me a narcissist. As a communist, the levels of irony were almost overwhelming and I do not enjoy irony.
The final comment was courtesy of Claes Rees Jr aka cgr710 now ka Clayton R Jesse Jr who no longer self-identifies as a Nazi for some reason. He gleefully declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that They had launched a year long campaign of vile sexual, racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ+ comments against apparently every female creator whose channel I mentioned. It continues still but They have now garnered enough courage to attack male creators. It was an ugly but interesting application of free speech. While They failed to secure a romantic relationship or impress the astrophysicist, writer, historian, economist and other female creators, They certainly needlessly increased the world's overabundance of unpleasantness. In addition They managed to deliver a splendid self-portrait of the snowflake (twisted, vicious US man-child) to a multinational audience, which seems to have been a victory. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
It is time for a short step away. This next is possible courtesy of - Mynameismarines, The Brothers Gwynne, I'm Rosa, Braedon Alberti, Briefed, SK Media, Reese Waters, Maria Veshchunova, Maria Frankland, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Countdown to Power, Stephanie Bookish, Lexi Newlynova, Kyle Hill, Venom Geek Media, Elvira Bary, Supertanskiii, Right Brain Writing, Hoots, Northern Narrowboaters, Reading the Past, Mercado Media, Fredda, The Binge List, Lindsay Nikole, Lydloves, Bookish Realms, Zoe Baker, Omeleto, Paperback Empire, Sci-Fi Scavenger, Welcome to Ukraine, Professor Gerdes Explains, Schola Gladiatoria, A New Elise on Life, JuLingo, The Obsessive Bookseller, Gabby Reads, Mom on the Spectrum, Sort of Interesting, FAFO, ATP Geopolitics, Part Time Hobbit, James Tullos, A Lil Bit Mads, Writing Quest, Engineering Knits, Daisy Viktoria, Yinka, ScaredKetchup, NetNarrator, Unlearning Economics, victory - 47 SMB, Keffals, Times Radio, Kings and Generals, Military History Visualized, Rachel Oates, Jake Broe, Kyiv Independent, UATV, Matriarchetype, Mom on the Spectrum, Hej Sokoly, Alina Gingertail, Welcome to Ukraine, Ukraine Matters, Kaz Rowe, Depressed Russian, Answer in Progress, Zoe Bee, Alize, Rebecca Watson, Truth to Power, Shaun, Fall of Civilisations, Gary's Economics, Dangerous Ideas with Lee Camp, Dungeon Dad, The Grungeon Master, Chess Vibes, RobWords, JohnTheDuncan, Leeja Miller, Weir on the Move, Lady knight the Brave, Owen Jones, Cunk, The Piano Guys, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Double Down News, Chris and Shell, Lily Simpson, Ro Ramdin, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Amie's Literary Empire.
Ominous music begins. 🙂 Goodreads functionality has been criticised by a number of BookTubers and they are moving to other sites. Storygraph, Fable, Bookwise, Basmo, Read Tracker, Book Shelf and Read are several. See the video on Victoria Masters' book channel. My concern is for the dangerous nature of the site supported by Amazon themselves.
The comment gangs are hardly unique to my reviews. They can be found on female reviews of Ringo's disgusting Dark Skies series and negative reviews of other writers in Romantasy, romance and science fiction. Reviews criticising racist, misogynistic, anti- LGBTQ, ableist and other ugly anti-human themes and representation. The bulk of the membership are US readers statistically, who enjoy an almost Russian thoughtless support and voted for public, televised and print plans to implement those types of policies.
Doxxing, stalking and the death threat have been aimed at one star reader reviewers and even Book Tubers. Amazon neither acknowledge nor act against crazed fans, writers organising them or employees who enable them.
My limited Goodreads message history was given over to these nutcases, which allowed them to generate a request through Pine Gap Centre that Australian Intelligence interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. Their attempt at my personal information failed, though it did result in two outraged customers. As we began sharing our experience, Amazon hurriedly moved to cover up their harassment and of course no apology, etc.
Recently a seventh ex-employee of EBay was sentenced for the harassment of a couple whose small ecommerce channel was deemed unkind to EBay. The couple were awarded multi-millions of pounds and that ex-employee had been the EBay Chief of Global Security or some such. These behaviours are proliferating, I suspect. Something to think about.
I suggest certain precautions that might make you safer until you replace Amazon devices and sites.
Remove all personal information from the profile and avoid the messaging app. Remove any lurker, those who never post. They are monitors neither admirers nor harmless. Given the Goodreads penchant for Altering customer pages, the screenshot of the odd and the ugly are invaluable.
Do Not use Kindle Files, Calendar, Contacts or Email. At the start of last year I tested a throwaway account and removed it with some difficulty fifteen minutes later and changed the password. Kindle had developed a Contact List. Recently Kindle sent a notification that they could not Sign Into my email. 🤔 Do Not "purchase" Amazon ebooks. You only Own the device. You do not own the download any of which can be deleted by Amazon with no explanation. There are other ebook vendors and library loans, if space is an issue. All Amazon Silk searches should be non-critical and innocuous.
To implement these will cost nothing. To not might do. These damaged members and employees know no morality or respect for others but are American patriots. Ominous music ends. 🙂
Be wary, be careful and may we all find Good Reading! 😊
While not understanding most of the terms I see on the site, these are some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Biz, Bobbing Along, UNTV, Interior Design Hub, Narrowboat Liberty, Mia Mulder, Artur Rehi, Cruising Alba, DW News, Natasha's Adventures, Philosophy Tube, Novara Media, Tom Nicholas, Digging for Britain, Roomies Digest, A Day of Small Things, Chloe Stafler, Tulia, No Justice MTG, Tibees, Munecat, The Juice Media, Owen Jones, Honest Government Ads, Mandy, Patrick is a Navajo, Inside Russia, Peter Stefanovic, Chris and Shell, Andrewism, Narrowboat Pirate, Cruising Crafts, Alice Cappelle, Anton Petrov, Northern Narrowboaters, Dark Docs, Dark Skies, Warographics, Lady of the Library, The Shades of Orange, NerdForge, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, The Templin Institute, Prime of Midlife, OrangeRiver, Wizards and Warriors, Brandon F, Sarah Z, A Cup of Nicole, The Book Leo, Physics Girl, Terrible Writing Advice, Adam Something, Renegade Cut, RealTime History, Dr Becky, Dr Ben Miller, Alexa Donne, Perun, Cold Fusion, IzzzYzzz, Jabzy, Heather Dale, Make Better Media, Karolina Zebrowska, Abby Cox, Historical Fashion, Katy Montgomerie, Agro Squirrel Narrates, The Welsh Viking, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, The Paranormal Scholar, Ember Green, Jen the Librarian, Tale Foundry, Maiorianus, UATV English, Lorna Jane Adventures, Some More News, Eleanor Morton, Council of Zoom, CalibanRising, It's Black Friday, Tale Foundry, Sarah Z, Space 1889, Kathy's Flog in France, Jessie Gender, Travelling K, Ben and Emily, Kris Atomic, Steve Shives, Books and Things, Emma Thorne, France 24, Books with Brittany, TwoTheFuture, Book Furnace, Kady2.0, Sabine Hossenfelder, Truth to Power, AllShorts, Ship Happens, Steve Shives, The Science of Science Fiction, Welcome to Ukraine, Kyiv Post, Malinda, Jess Owens, The Historian's Craft, Mia Asano, Cambrian Chronicles, Jacobin, Chris Animations, Cecelia Blomdahl, The Leftist Cooks, Roisin's Reading, Lily Simpson, Aid Thompsin, Rachel Maksy, World War Two, Alt Shift X, David John Wellman, EarleWrites, The Budget Museum, History with Kayleigh, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Harbo Wholmes, Books with Emily Fox, Extinction Rebellion UK, Verilybitchie, Veritas et Caritas, The Who Addicts, Riverboat Jack, Jack Edwards, Science Fiction with Damien Walker, Steven Woodford, Lynn Saga, Amie's Literary Empire, Skip Intro.
I wish you a great morning, a splendid afternoon, a wonderful evening, a pleasant night and may we all continue learning.
Allow Another to speak in your name, you adopt Another's sins.
My Catholic Grandmother
December 14, 2021
I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend.
Adrian is a security lead on the Electra, an exploration ship sent out to map the stars at some point in the near future. This is nothing like Star Trek, far more mundane as everyone goes about their lives while getting their jobs done.
They come across a ship that is floating through space, so of course they stop to investigate. A team is sent over, including Adrian, but odd things start cropping up almost immediately. Some people are affected by moments where they can't remember a single thing, and then the systems on the ship start going wrong.
I'll stop the recap there. The first half of the book builds the tension as people are running from one problem to another as their fellow crewmates start freaking out. The captain wants to get the heck away from the derelict ship, but no matter what they try it doesn't work.
The second half is the meat of the story.
I really enjoyed this. It's pure speculative fiction, filled with real people trying to do their best in a situation they don't understand. There weren't any dead spots, and the progression winds the story tighter and tighter.
I've already picked up book 2 to read that soon.
4/5*
Adrian is a security lead on the Electra, an exploration ship sent out to map the stars at some point in the near future. This is nothing like Star Trek, far more mundane as everyone goes about their lives while getting their jobs done.
They come across a ship that is floating through space, so of course they stop to investigate. A team is sent over, including Adrian, but odd things start cropping up almost immediately. Some people are affected by moments where they can't remember a single thing, and then the systems on the ship start going wrong.
I'll stop the recap there. The first half of the book builds the tension as people are running from one problem to another as their fellow crewmates start freaking out. The captain wants to get the heck away from the derelict ship, but no matter what they try it doesn't work.
The second half is the meat of the story.
I really enjoyed this. It's pure speculative fiction, filled with real people trying to do their best in a situation they don't understand. There weren't any dead spots, and the progression winds the story tighter and tighter.
I've already picked up book 2 to read that soon.
4/5*
December 25, 2021
A good old fashioned rip roaring story
No plot spoilers
No potential triggers
There are some errors but nothing to get irritated about.
The characterisation is good, with distinct individual personalities even if they are a bit cliched.
I love the book, it runs along under it's own steam and pull you right along with it.
There are no sex scenes and only a tiny bit of light swearing.
I can honestly say I didn't miss it either, the book didn't need to be punctuated with a sex scene at any point, and despite the overuse of exclamation marks (sometimes, dear author, you have to let the readers imagination supply their own level of urgency) I don't think it hindered the story telling.
It was like taking a step back before soft porn infiltrated almost every book and I believe the book is all the better for simply being a tall tale.
I first read the book years ago and subsequently lost access to the kindle account it was on, and only found the book again yesterday and I have to say it's just as good as I remembered.
There is just the right amount of sci fi and technical detail combined with a perfect balance between show and tell.
I have no problem recommending the book.
No plot spoilers
No potential triggers
There are some errors but nothing to get irritated about.
The characterisation is good, with distinct individual personalities even if they are a bit cliched.
I love the book, it runs along under it's own steam and pull you right along with it.
There are no sex scenes and only a tiny bit of light swearing.
I can honestly say I didn't miss it either, the book didn't need to be punctuated with a sex scene at any point, and despite the overuse of exclamation marks (sometimes, dear author, you have to let the readers imagination supply their own level of urgency) I don't think it hindered the story telling.
It was like taking a step back before soft porn infiltrated almost every book and I believe the book is all the better for simply being a tall tale.
I first read the book years ago and subsequently lost access to the kindle account it was on, and only found the book again yesterday and I have to say it's just as good as I remembered.
There is just the right amount of sci fi and technical detail combined with a perfect balance between show and tell.
I have no problem recommending the book.
February 12, 2024
I love it when I discover a new author that speaks my language, subject wise that is. I fell right into this terrific little space horror story. Set in space, the ship and cast of characters were detailed and clear and I enjoyed being with them. It was a unique… problem they had and I really enjoyed the other beings that they discover and the fight they go through against them. The colourful personalities made this a fantastic read for me. I’m going on to read the next in the series soon.
September 11, 2017
Well written traditional SciFi. The characters and plot were well developed and crafted. I enjoyed the author's complex and reasonably believeable universe and plan to read more of E. R. Mason. Some mild language and one risque scene may marr the book for some, but they were incorporated appropriately as part of the plot. Lightly recommended.
September 12, 2019
Great story and well written...
Great story that is crisply written and made every page literally a page turner a great read after some disappointing reading frommore established writers. The plot and story was within the limits of what we know of science today and except for a couple of typos and Kindle formatting was poor, I couldn't fault it.
Great story that is crisply written and made every page literally a page turner a great read after some disappointing reading frommore established writers. The plot and story was within the limits of what we know of science today and except for a couple of typos and Kindle formatting was poor, I couldn't fault it.
October 12, 2019
Enjoyable sci-fi/adventure story.
Off on a mapping exercise to chart a distant region of space maverick astronaut Adrian Tarn signs on as security simply because he needs the money.
They stop to invetigate a seemingly stranded spaceship. Cue mayhem as they fight the bad aliens. Fortunately given limited support from a friendly alien they have onboard.
Not taxing but enjoyable.
Off on a mapping exercise to chart a distant region of space maverick astronaut Adrian Tarn signs on as security simply because he needs the money.
They stop to invetigate a seemingly stranded spaceship. Cue mayhem as they fight the bad aliens. Fortunately given limited support from a friendly alien they have onboard.
Not taxing but enjoyable.
December 23, 2017
Very good
I enjoyed the book. It is fast-paced and has very likable characters. The plot is engrossing and kept my attention very well. The author is a good writer, unlike some other sci-fi books I have read.
I enjoyed the book. It is fast-paced and has very likable characters. The plot is engrossing and kept my attention very well. The author is a good writer, unlike some other sci-fi books I have read.
May 13, 2018
Fun adventure. Nothing deep but still enjoyable.
I had a good time with this book. Not a bad little space adventure at all. Mysterious aliens. Could have more characterization and better detail. Worth a try.
I had a good time with this book. Not a bad little space adventure at all. Mysterious aliens. Could have more characterization and better detail. Worth a try.
March 29, 2019
Going to be looking for more by this author!
Space, starmen and aliens, picture perfect space thriller, unexpected story line, likable characters, hope there are more of these stories for me to read.
Space, starmen and aliens, picture perfect space thriller, unexpected story line, likable characters, hope there are more of these stories for me to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews